


aboard the argo ii

by picturetosburn



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Argo II (Percy Jackson), F/M, Found Family, I am eventually going to add more chapters that I will have just written, and all that good stuff, because I wanna address some relationships between the seven, but basically, from fanfiction, just the seven being the seven, like how hazel may be uncomfy around members bc of her race/age etc., percy being a good dad ™ and brother ™ to everyone on the ship, so might not be canon compliant idk I dont remember hoo, written a rly long time ago
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25010464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/picturetosburn/pseuds/picturetosburn
Summary: multi-chapter fic that explores the moments on the argo ii that rick didn't cover, including an outdated and extremely cheesey summary posted straight from fanfiction.net"sailing across the ocean is no easy job, especially with seven demigods and an overprotective satyr. between monsters to fight, side quests to go on, and immortal beings to please, the chosen seven are in for a long ride. despite ancient tensions between greeks and romans, century-old rivalries between parents, and various other tensions, the seven must work together and along the way create the most unexpected friendships."
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Comments: 11
Kudos: 55





	1. her mother's eyes

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! first few chapters will be cross-posted straight from ff.net (and i wrote them EONS ago so they might be a little iffy) but then i will hopefully be updating future chapters as i go 
> 
> all this pjo discourse on tumblr is causing me to re-evaluate a lot of the seven's relationships and i want to delve deeper into that

Piper McLean, despite who her mom is, does not get jealous. Well, maybe that's a lie, she thinks, remembering the knot she used to get in her stomach at the mere mention of Reyna's name and the angry tears that would flood her eyes when her dad would choose a vacation in Malibu with a new girlfriend over parent's weekend at her boarding schools.

And even though she claims she doesn't care about being pretty, sometimes it hurts a tiny bit that Annabeth and Hazel both seem to be more beautiful than her, with her choppy hair and scabby knees. And even though she knows she's useful in battle, she also knows that a pretty voice and a dagger won't win a war, while Reyna's sword fighting skills will.

But those are the kind of things that Piper can just shove to the back of her mind and try to forget about. Because, despite the little nagging voice in her head, Piper knows that she has saved every single one of the sevens' butts more times than they can count. She knows her place on this ship, and after years of fighting for attention through petty theft and loud tantrums, she finally has it for something good. She is finally recognized and cared about and is going to play a part in, well, hopefully, saving the world. 

Despite this newfound confidence and incessant reminders that regardless of all the voices in her head, she is in fact enough, Piper still feels some jealously spark from time to time, mostly thanks to her godly genes. It's the kind of jealousy that burns a pit in her stomach every time she thinks about it.

She feels the green-eyed monster coming out of her, the jealously gnawing at her stomach now as she watches Percy and Annabeth. They don't know she's here, and she's not about to make her presence known now, not when they'll know she's been spying on them. 

Percy and Annabeth were leaning against the railing, looking out over the sea. Percy was making the water rise in shapes. He already did an owl, a heart, and for some reason, a lightning bolt. Annabeth was laughing, the kind of laugh that comes from deep inside of you, which was a new sight for Piper. Piper had not heard Annabeth laugh like that in the first several months of knowing her, counting herself lucky if she got a snarky chuckle over stolen breakfast. Instantly, Piper felt bad about the jealousy, when Percy made her friend so happy.

It wasn't that Piper wanted to date Percy. No, it was more that she wanted her relationship with Jason to be just as perfect. She was jealous of the way that Percy treated Annabeth, the way that his eyes lit up every time she walked in the room, the way he casually touched her as if he always wanted to affirm that she was real. 

"Remember, almost a year ago, it was our one month anniversary? And we had that whole picnic set up, but I didn't even remember it was our anniversary." Percy stopped making the water shapes long enough to look at Annabeth.

"Yeah?" Annabeth said. "I thought you did remember." She stifled a laugh, and I could tell she was trying to look mad.

"Nah, I totally didn't. But that a pretty good recovery, huh?'

"That was a pretty good night."

"Pretty good? Annabeth, do you know how many girls would kill to go to Paris? That should automatically make up for every stupid thing I ever do!" Piper could tell Percy was also trying not to laugh, but, meanwhile, her heart fluttered. 

Paris? He took her to freaking Paris? 

The pit in her stomach grew, and Piper cursed her mom for making her act like this. 

"Yeah, like disappearing for half a year," Annabeth said quietly.

Instantly, the mood went from happy and carefree to silent. Piper bit her lip. Percy finally took his arm off of Annabeth's shoulder and turned to face her. "Jeez, Annabeth, I am so sorry. I am so sorry I disappeared. I am so sorry you had to wonder if I was still alive. I know what it's like. Remember back when we were fourteen and Luke kidnapped you. What I felt during that week, I can't imagine feeling it for like six months."

"It's fine, Percy." She blinked rapidly. "I shouldn't have said anything anyway. I don't blame you, it's just, losing you like that? It brings back a lot of bad memories, bad feelings. Even worse because it's you." She tried to turn away from him and back to the sea, but he gently grabbed her shoulders.

"Look at me, Annabeth, I am so sorry."

"I know. I know it's not your fault, and truthfully I am so flattered that I'm the only thing you remembered that I can't be mad at you. I just, it just slipped out and I didn't mean it." 

Percy pulled her close, into one of the tightest hugs she had ever seen. "I am never going to leave you again, Annabeth," he promised. His strong voice shook slightly. "We are something permanent, remember?" 

As Piper watched Annabeth nod into his chest, she realized she wasn't really jealous of their relationship. She was madder at Jason for not caring about theirs the Percy cared about Annabeth and his. Piper knew that if she was Annabeth and Jason was Percy, that he wouldn't remember her the way Percy did Annabeth. The daughter in Aphrodite in Piper knew that, as much as she hated to admit it. As much as she hated how much she cared. 

Piper closed her eyes tight, ignoring the burning behind her lids. She knew that even though Jason was no Percy, and that even though he would never spontaneously kiss her or make her belly laugh so hard she almost threw up, he was good to her. He was kind and loyal and caring toward her. He was dependable, and despite what the others on the ship thought, he could always make her laugh with a sarcastic remark. His hand fit in hers like they were once molded from the same block of clay, his eyes glimmering like they were the first stars she has ever seen. The logical part of Piper, the part of her that had always subconsciously fought against her mom's influence, knew that just because she and Jason were different, didn't mean they were worse.

Maybe if the gods hadn't royally played with their lives, hadn't gambled with Jason's memory, gave her half the time with him that Annabeth and Percy have gotten, she would be etched permanently into his brain. Maybe they just needed more time, more real memories, something that would help them ground themselves as two parts of the same whole. And, if by some miracle they both survived this mess, they had all the time in the world. 

Now when Percy tucked a lock of Annabeth's hair behind her ear, when they fell asleep in the stables, legs intertwined together, when they talked, lightly touching each other as if to reassure themselves that the other was still real, she wouldn't feel the burning jealousy she used to, but rather a glimmering hope, a yearning for a future with Jason that was just as strong as the older couple's relationship.

A few days later, she watched Percy and Annabeth walk off the ship together, hand-in-hand as they set off the start Annabeth's quest, alone, and she tightened her own grip on Jason's fingers. 

"Jason?" she asked, looking up at him with the very eyes that she inherited from her mother, yet with none of the jealously that always seemed present in her mom's identical version of these eyes.

"Yeah?" he said, squeezing her hand and smiling softly down at her, his eyes filled with love and worry for his friends that just set off on an impossible mission. 

"Thanks for being here, with me," Piper said, hoping that Jason would understand what she meant. 

"Of course," Jason said, tugging her closer. "I'll always be here."


	2. big brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is chapter 2! in the original version of this posted on ff.net, i definitely didnt get into some of the race issues or underlying tensions that i envision in the seven, so this has some changes in it!
> 
> please let me know also if i say anything in this that is questionable - i tried to make our boy percy a good ally but obviously would love feedback on that!

Hazel never had any siblings. When she was growing up in New Orleans, it was just her mom and her. Her and her mom. Just the two of them. It worked. Hazel was never necessarily lonely. Sometimes bored or annoyed that she didn't have anyone to talk to, but never really lonely.

This time around though, Hazel was constantly surrounded by others, kids her own age, who would ruffle her hair (much to her chagrin), wrap an arm around her shoulder after sparring, or check in with her in the afternoon to see if she wanted a snack. At Camp Jupiter, for the first time in her life, and, well, afterlife too, Hazel finally felt like she had the big family so many of her friends from school had growing up. 

And, however, while Hazel liked to think that now, instead of having just a mother—a mother who wasn't much of a mom no less—she had a big family, things definitely weren't easy still. Growing up in the 1930's, life was a lot different. Her newfound family on the Argo II and even her real brother as well didn't share the deep dark skin she had or the hesitations when entering a public bathroom. It was jarring to suddenly be brought into a world so different than the one she grew up in. Even more jarring to share a dinner table with a beautiful blonde whose worn jean shorts definitely weren't stolen from the lost and found bin at Camp Jupiter like Hazel's were. 

And she wanted to love Annabeth, she really did. And she knew that Annabeth didn't care about the color of her skin, at least not nearly as much as she cared about how well Hazel could fight monsters, manipulate the mist, and keep her idiotic boyfriend out of trouble. She supposed the others on the ship just didn't understand, not because they held her differences against her, but because they grew up in a time, where though racism still exists, things were simply different. Even Piper, Leo and Frank, who all shared the struggles of being a minority with her, grew up in a time where they could share the same bathroom as the white members of their ship without fear, could feel comfortable sitting at the table at night, not always worrying that she should sit down last, or let someone else have the last scoop of pasta. 

Her own brother, despite his icy pale skin, grew up in the past as she did, and for that reason, their kinship ran even deeper than the blood in their veins. He was the first to pull her sharply to his side when she hung in the shadows, forcing her to recognize her right to stand next to other kids at Camp Jupiter, the right to eat lunch next to Dakota even though his skin was as pale as the mashed potatoes he ate. Nico was always the first to demand she shares her opinion, to insist that although Annabeth had scary intense eyes, she really wasn't all that bad. Hazel knew, deep down, that part of Nico's incessant need to make her recognize the changes in time, recognize her rights, stemmed from trying to convince himself that he too was equal to those around him. 

Nico was the type of boy that it took time to fall in love with. Sometimes, Hazel caught glimpses of the boy he used to be, the boy she never knew but heard all about. Hazel felt fiercely protective of him, even though he was the stronger demigod with more experience, even though he was the one who always seemed to be guiding and pushing her.

There was a quality to Nico that made Hazel feel pity. As the demigods were traveling to the Doors of Death to hopefully meet Percy and Annabeth, Nico pulled Hazel aside.

It was a warm night, and all the stars were shining high in the sky. Nico leaned over the railing of the ship and stared up. "My sister, my other one, taught me some of the stars. It was one time after she, um you know, and I summoned her. She told me that the constellations were all brave people who earned a place in the sky to shine forever."

With Nico, when talking to him, sometimes, Hazel decided, you just had to not ask questions and just ignore the gaps in the story. So, Hazel didn't question the summoning or his sister and just prompted him with a simple, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he responded. He pointed up, and she followed his finger with her gaze. "Do you see that cluster of stars up there? It looks like a girl with a bow. Her name was Zoe. I didn't really know her, but my sister says she was something special, so she must've been."

"Yeah," Hazel said quietly, smiling softly.

Sometimes Nico scared Hazel. It was the times when he had nightmares, or when he got that cold look in his eyes and didn't talk. The nightmares were the worst though. One night, four days after Percy and Annabeth fell, Hazel heard a knock at her door in the middle of the night. She sat up, squinting at the sliver of light that came in through the crack in her door. "My shift isn't until five o'clock," she mumbled, putting her pillow over her eyes.

"It's me, Haze."

Hazel sat up straighter and looked closer at the shadow at her door. "Nico? What are you doing here?"

"It was just the nightmares again. I couldn't sleep."

Hazel felt something inside her break. For all Nico did to put her back together again, sometimes she forgot how broken he was too. She slid over on her small bed and patted the spot next to her. "Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" she asked.

The door opened a little wider, and in the dim light, Hazel could see how awful Nico looked. "Can I?" he asked.

"Come on," Hazel laid back down. "Get some sleep, okay?"

Nico came in and laid down next to her. In the dark, Hazel groped for his hand and finally found it, squeezing it once, a promise to always protect him. 

Hazel liked to think that she had another brother too. Another brother who looked nothing like her, but who held a special place in her heart that she would have never thought there was room for when she was a kid in the 1930s. 

Percy was a different story. Where Nico was dark, Percy was light. Where Nico was serious, Percy approached every situation with a joke. When she met him, confused and lost, there was no judgement or prejudice in his eyes. He looked at her and Frank like they could save him, even though he didn't seem to know what he needed saving from. Even now that he knew his whole past, there would be so much more than just skin color that could make Percy think he was superior to her. He was the hero of Olympus, he had fought gods, titans, monsters, and other heroes, never failing to save the people he loved. He was the most powerful demigod of their generation, maybe even ever. But, Percy, he always treated her as an equal, looked at her with reverence and love that caused her heart to be full with warmth whenever she was near him. 

The night before Annabeth was going to set of on her own to follow the mark, Hazel found Percy, much to her surprise, sitting on the deck with his feet dangling over the edge. His head was down, hiding his face, but Hazel could tell by the slump of his shoulders that he hadn't slept in days.

"Perce?" she asked, walking over to him. She sat down and gripped the edge of the ship tightly.

Did Percy not realize how dangerous it was to be practically hanging off of a ledge with the ocean so far down it was barely visible?

Apparently not, Hazel assumed, because he wasn't even holding on.

"Hey," he said. His voice was low and scratchy.

"You alright? I passed Annabeth in the hallway. She had loads of maps in her hands, maybe she could use some help looking at them."

"I can't right now, Hazel. It just hurts more to be with her." He squeezed his eyes shut tight and pressed his fingers against them so hard his fingers turned bright white.

Hazel's gut turned. She had seen Percy at his lowest, but somehow, this seemed like the most pain she had ever seen him in. "Percy," she started. "I know how hard it can be to make sacrifices. It's scary. I did it once. But it is going to be okay." 

Percy looked at her. "I know. I just think you are a whole lot braver than I am. I'm selfish, Hazel." His voice sounded broken and lost. 

"Percy. You are the least selfish person I know. You care about people so much, and I have never met someone with a bigger heart. And you opened your heart to me, even though you didn't know me, even if people like you don't often be family with people like me." 

Percy's eyebrows scrunched together. "What do you mean?" 

"When I grew up, there weren't a whole lot of white boys choosing to spend their time with someone with my skin color, Percy." 

His gaze softened slightly, and he fully turned his body to look at her. "Hazel," he said, his voice almost stern. "I know things in this country, this world, probably don't seem that much better at times than they did back when you were a kid, but I don't care about any of that. Well, I care, because I care about you and want you to feel welcome at all times, everywhere, but when I see you, I don't see your skin color as something negative." He grabbed her shoulder lightly, and almost shyly said, "You're beautiful and strong and one of the smartest people I know. I love you, and I know everyone on this ship does. But," he added, "if anyone here, or anywhere, ever does anything to make you feel uncomfortable or unwelcome or anything, you tell me, okay? We will fix it together." 

Hazel's eyes were wide when he was done speaking. She had always known Percy was the type of person to stand up to bullies, but somehow that speech made the respect and fondness inside her for him grow even larger. She smiled shyly. "Thank you, Percy."  
"There is nothing to thank me for." Hazel reached over and took his hand and then quickly blushed even though it was just like holding a brother's hand. "Sorry," she said loosening her grip, ready to let go, "I'm just a little scared of heights."

Percy tightened his grip on her hand, his lighter skin weaving beautifully with her darker fingers. "I won't let you fall, I promise."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Finally, Percy said, "I lost her for six months. I'm just not sure I'm ready to let her out of my sight. This mission, it's not just any old quest. It's like a death wish."

"I think she's going to be okay, really."

"I hope, Haze. Now that I remember everything, I'm not sure I can live without her."

"You know, I don't know her very well. Maybe you can tell me about her? Maybe that will make you feel better about letting her leave? And, I would really like to get to know the girl who makes you this crazy."

"Maybe," he whispered. His hand was clammy, but Hazel didn't really mind.

"Sometimes, when I look at her I feel so freaking guilty. When we were fourteen, she got kidnapped and that week was the worst week of my life. I didn't know what to do without her and almost died finding her. And then when I was fifteen, I went missing, just for a week or two. I walked in on my own funeral when I returned to camp. She was standing up there, sobbing and saying how good of a friend I was, and all of a sudden I just felt like the world's crappiest friend. All I can think about is how sick with worry we both were after just a week, and how bad she looked when I came back that one summer. These past few months I just can't imagine what she went through."

As Percy rambled on and on, Hazel just held his hand and just listened. "It seems like you guys have a pretty good track record for finding each other," she said when he finished talking.

"Yeah, I guess."

"With six friends like us, ready to jump into action if we hear one thing goes wrong, I think she's going to be okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Why don't you go see her? She looked like she was having trouble with this one map."

"Yeah, okay." Percy stood up. His eyes were slightly red, and he quickly wiped them. "Thanks, Haze."

She just smiled at him, knowing that there was no need to thank her. They both had each other's backs, ready to protect their sibling. And Hazel knew, that if Percy really loved Annabeth this much, she couldn't be all too scary. 

Suddenly, even though Percy wasn't holding Hazel's hand anymore, she wasn't so scared of falling. Hazel knew that she had six great friends, family members, who would be ready to catch her if she fell.

And two great big brothers who would always be looking out for her.


End file.
